Brother Bear

"What's he getting all worked up about, eh?"

"I don't know. Maybe the goose pooped on him, eh?"

Kenai (Phoenix) is excited to finally receive his totem from the Spirits and begin his journey towards manhood.  He is given the "bear of love", which he sees as joke.  His oldest brother, Sitka (Sweeney) is killed by a bear, and he vows revenge, forsaking his gift.  After killing the bear, the Spirits transform into a bear.

His other brother, Denahi (Raize), believes he was killed by the bear, and devotes his life to killing the bear to avenge both of his brothers.  Kenai, now a bear, learns that he must find the mountain where the Spirits come to earth to reclaim his old life.  He teams up with Koda (Suarez), a smart aleck cub who is trying to find his mother.  Along the way they meet up with Canadian moose brother Rutt (Moranis) and Tuke (Thomas).  Can they find the mountain before Denahi finds them?


When Disney first released this film, I wasn't particularly interested in it.  I don't know what didn't appeal, but this film was not on my radar until more recently.  Seeing it was on Netflix instant streaming, I added it to my queue and figured I would eventually get around to watching it.

The story is compelling from beginning to end.  It ranges from serious to sad to silly, without taking you out of the story.  Disney had enough faith in the film to greenlight a direct-to-video sequel.

The animal characters are hilarious.  Jeremy Suarez's Koda is lovable from the beginning.  The moose, voiced by comedic actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, steal the show.  They are crazy and entertaining and pop up at just the right times.  The chipmunks are silly.  And I really enjoyed the rams and wish we saw a little more of them.  The human characters are good as well, but the animals are more memorable.

A good film that is far too often overlooked among all other Disney animated films.

Brother Bear (2003) 85 minutes
Director: Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix as Kenai
Jeremy Suarez as Koda
Rick Moranis as Rutt
Dave Thomas as Tuke
Jason Raize as Denahi
D.B. Sweeney as Sitka
Joan Copeland as Tanana